Why criminalise beef eating, HC asks Delhi government on PIL

Updated: Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 13:56 [IST]

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New Delhi, Sep 14: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Delhi government and the police on a PIL that has sought quashing of provisions of the Delhi Cattle Preservation Act that criminalises possession and consumption of beef in the city.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to file the response by December 8. The plea was filed on May 4.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO working for development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, saying the "right to eat the food of one's choice is an integral part of the right to life and liberty".

The Constitution mandates the state not to make a law towards enforcement of a particular religious practice, the plea said.

"The prohibition on possession and consumption of beef per se as under the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act is in violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioners and other persons similarly situated as it infringes their personal liberty," it said.